The Beginning of Forever
by IllThinkOfSomething10
Summary: Maura, age 14. She's living with her adopted parents. She's having trouble with herself. My story of how she meets Jane. It also shows how she came to be as she is in the series. There's also the beginning of a romance blossoming. M for a little bit of language.
1. Chapter 1

_AN-This is something I came up with rather randomly, my mind was wandering (you'll soon learn that that can be rather dangerous) and this is what I came up with! Hope you like it!_

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters.**

* * *

"_I hate you!" _I screamed as I ran out of the house, tears streaming down my face, pale blonde hair getting stuck to the tracks. I let out a strangled cry, only barely recognizable as a call of some kind, consisting of a few seemingly random notes. Seconds later, a huge black stallion with rippling muscles galloped up to me, sliding to a stop inches away. I didn't even flinch as he came up from his almost-sitting position with his head held over mine.

He reared over me, screaming a war cry. When he came down onto all fours, I put a hand on his neck, feeling his muscles angrily flexing as he arched his neck in a challenge.

"Don't challenge them, boy. My parents aren't worth it." I told him, tears still streaming down my face.

He turned a big brown eye to me, seeming to say _"Really, Maura? Are you sure you don't want me to teach them a lesson?" _

"I'm sure," I said firmly, the tears stopping like they always did when one of my horses was near. However, this big boy, Zeus, is by far my favorite. I clicked my tongue, asking him to kneel with a hand on his withers. He did as I asked, kneeling down so I could get on his back. I swung a leg over his wide back, then clicked my tongue to let him know I was ready. He went up into a "sitting" position, as less educated people, or as trainers who taught trick horses would call it. I knew very well it was just halfway between kneeling/lying down and standing. Then he stood up his full, grand height of 18 hands.

"Ready to go, Tanvir?" I said to the horse standing so quietly beneath me. He snorted, bobbing his head. I tangled a hand in his mane, and he jumped into his long-strided, smooth canter.

* * *

As we cantered along, I thought about the fight with my parents. Most children would be fighting to go to a party, or hang out with friends. But I don't have many friends. I was fighting because my parents wanted me to go to the street gathering tonight, and I didn't want to go because all the others my age would tease me and call me a know-it-all, or a braniac, or other horrible things they called me. They called me a bitch, a fucker, and so many more things. I wanted to stay home and be with my three horses. We fought until I couldn't take it anymore, and I left. We were cantering along, and I realized Tanvir was heading for the park where we usually went. When we got there, I slid off his back, and he followed me to a tree, where I sat on the roots of. Once he made sure I wasn't going to keep moving, he dropped his head and wandered, searching for grass. I got lost in my own thoughts.

* * *

I don't know how long I sat there. I don't know what time it was when Tanvir let out the whinny of warning, letting me know there was somebody near, probably walking towards us in the dark. I stood up and moved so I was right next to him, with a hand on his neck.

"Who's there?" I said, "What do you want?"

"It's okay," Came the reply, "I saw you earlier, and I figured you were still here."

The voice was feminine, but with an edge to it. A tomboy. That's what she sounded like. The voice was about ten feet away.

"Oh. Well, yes. I am still here." I said.

"Well, I realize that." Came the slightly sarcastic reply. It was closer now. Maybe four feet away.

"Well, yes. I'm aware. Why did you come over to me?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I couldn't figure out why you were here by yourself, with that monster of a horse." She replied.

"Oh. I had to get away from my house for a while. You know how parents get."

"Yea, my parents are always on my back about something. I know how it gets."

"Well, I should probably be going, my parents must be worrying." I said. Not that I really cared.

"I thought you needed to get away?"

"I'll probably sleep in the stables."

"Oh. Okay. Well, see you soon maybe?"

"Meet here tomorrow?" I couldn't help myself. I was curious about this girl. Who was she? What does she look like? What possessed her to worry about me? I needed answers.

"Sure. Ten AM sound good to you?"

"Fine. See you then!"

"Bye!"

I jumped on Tanvir from the ground, and we headed home. All the way home I thought about the girl. I couldn't wait for the next day to come.

* * *

9:45 couldn't have come slower. I fed the horses, let them out, cleaned their stalls, and groomed them. Lady was starting to get annoyed with me because I kept running the brush over the same place. I snapped out of it, and finished the rest of her, checked her feet for rocks, and left her alone. I grabbed some breakfast after all that, and by the time I was finished it was almost time. I walked down, deciding to take Rocky, my gelding. I got on his back, grabbing onto a long, pale, palomino mane. I didn't bother with a saddle or bridle. I rode at a slow canter all the way to the park, then circled the park once at a walk. I jumped off and sat at a tree that was near, if not the very one I had sat at last night.

Soon enough, a girl with wild, raven-colored hair walked up to me. She had features that were soft but hard at the same time. I thought she was beautiful, though I would never tell her that. She smiled a little at me.

"So, you're the girl with the horse." Then she looked at Rocky. "Horses. This is a different one. He isn't as tall. And the horse last night was dark. This one is lighter."

I started. I hadn't expected her to notice. "Yes, Rocky here is a palomino. Tanvir is black. And much, much taller."

So that was how our conversation started. With horses. Oh well, it was a start.

* * *

We sat there until our stomachs started growling. Then we decided we should go home.

We looked at each other. The next thing we knew, we were leaning towards each other, and right before our lips brushed, she pulled back, mortified.

I felt a blush spread through my cheeks.

I jumped on Rocky, and we started for home.

"_Wait!_" The girl yelled, "_My name is Jane!"_

Rocky had settled into his canter by now. I yelled over my shoulder "_My name is Maura!"_

But Jane didn't hear me. I saw her brow furrow as she tried to figure out what I had said, and then she was gone.

* * *

We didn't see each other after that. She didn't even know my name. I thought about her often for a while, but then slowly I started thinking about her less and less, until I didn't think about her much at all. It was just the way of life, I guess.

And that was how I met Jane.

* * *

_AN- Well. What did you guys think? I think if enough of you liked it, I might write a second part in the future. Thank you for reading!:D_


	2. Chapter 2

_AN- Well, thank you to my pain-in-the-ass sister, SnapTobiume10, for being really supportive and all that good crap, and also RavenSkyAngel, for wanting me to do Chapter 2. Well, here it is, guys!_

_Hope you like it!_

_PS, it starts out as Jane, then switches to Maura for the rest._

* * *

I walked into Homicide, and plopped down at my desk. Korsak and Frost looked over at me.

"How's the day going, boys?" I said, without even looking at them, and took a sip of my coffee.

"It's gonna be a slow day." Frost said, looking back to his computer intently.

"How's that porn, Frost?" I stated smugly.

"I don't watch porn at work!" He replied indignantly.

"Yea, _at work_. And I'm sure you do on slow days." Korsak chimed in.

Frost just shook his head, and pointedly went back to typing on his computer.

I remembered I had coffee to bring Maura, and grabbed it, walked over to the elevator, pressed the button, and stepped in when the doors opened. I pressed the button for Maura's floor. As the elevator jerked to a start, I thought about the woman I was going to see. I think I've fallen in love with her.

Then I remembered that day in the park, so many years ago. Where that little blonde girl had had me fall for her, when I hadn't known her for more then a few hours. I remembered that day perfectly. Her horses, one huge and black, and the other a smaller paint. She had light blonde hair, lighter then Maura's. But her features. They were somewhat like Maura's. And her hazel eyes were the exact same shade. With those little green flecks.

I realized the elevator door had opened before me, and I stepped out. I walked into the autopsy room, the room where my life changed forever.

* * *

"Hey, Maur. Here's your coffee." Jane's voice startled me out of my thoughts. I smiled gratefully, even though there was nothing to do, and took it out of her hand.

I expected Jane to just say bye and leave again, but she stood leaning against the door frame of my office, looking at me. It made me self-conscious, and I looked down at what I was wearing. Nothing was spilled on it. I couldn't figure out why she was staring at me like that.

"What's wrong, Jane?" I said, not being able to stand her staring at me like that any longer.

"Nothing." Jane shook her head, as if she thought she was losing her mind, "I'll see you later, Maur. I should go see what kind of mischief Frost and Korsak are getting into." And she walked out.

"Now I wonder what that was all about." I muttered to myself, and then went back to shoe shopping for a pair of heels to go with my new red silk dress.

* * *

I stepped out of the elevator on the Homicide level of the BPD building.

"Hey, Jane. Can you come down to my office when you get a chance?"

"Sure, Maur." She said, from where she was looking intently at Frost's computer over his shoulder. I thought that was weird because there were no cases today, but I left to go wait for her in my office.

* * *

When Jane had left my office, my mind had wandered. The way she looked at me reminded me of how people had looked at me when I was a child and said something more then a little bit advanced. Confused, and more then a little bit dazed. There was only one person in my whole childhood that hadn't looked at me like that. That girl that had come to see if I was okay in the park that day I had run away from my parents, the one that I had somehow loved. Her name was Jane, too. Now that I think about it, she had raven-colored curly hair too. And the same shade eyes as Jane, that dark chocolate brown. Could it have been my Jane? Surely not. Of course not.

Jane walked in, looking at me.

"What's wrong, Maur? Are you okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine. I just wanted to know why you were looking at me in such a peculiar way earlier."

Her features battled for a dominant emotion, ending in a careful mask of indifference. "I was just thinking of something that happened a long time ago. It was nothing."

Maura started. Then she regained composure, and decided it was time to figure this out.

"Oh, you mean 'something a really long time ago' as in seeing a little girl with blonde hair sitting beside a tree with a huge black horse next to her, worrying about her when she was still there a few hours later, going over to see her, and then meeting up with her the next day when she has a paint horse with her, almost kissing her, then pulling away, her running, and then telling her your name, and you didn't hear what hers was? That kind of 'something a really long time ago'?"

Jane was staring at me, her mouth agape. "Maura Isles, that was one huge run-on sentence, and I would so hold this over you if I hadn't just found out something I had been wondering all my life."

"Oh, so I was right," I said.

"Yea.. That was me." The next words seemed to just fall out of her mouth, "I fell in love with you that day and I've been in love with you ever since."

I stared at her. I had fallen in love with her too. I just thought she hadn't felt the same way. She had pulled away, after all.

"I.. I fell in love with you too, Jane."

The next thing I knew, our lips were pressed together in a passionate kiss. I finally felt complete. It had taken so long for us to realize.

But it was so right.

* * *

_AN- So, what did you think? Thank you for reading guys! It would really mean a lot if you reviewed. Thanks again!_


	3. Chapter 3

"I have a question for you." Jane whispered. I had sat up, tracing patterns down perfect abs, running my hands over finely- crafted musculature of the shoulder, the upperarm, her forearm. She caught my hand, tilting my chin to lock gazes with her. "Seriously, Maura."

"Of course. What is it?" now that I was less focused on her wonderful body and more on the words that she was trying to say, I couldn't help my own curiosity. Jane's questions were always... Interesting. I regretted the fact that I couldn't tangle my hands into her hair, curl into her right this moment. She still held my left hand captive.

"You know how the first time we met, you had those horses?" Of course I did. How would I ever forget something like that? I tilted my head to the side, long blonde hair sliding over my shoulder. "Right, you remember everything, Google." I smirked at the comment, but waited. She obviously had more to say. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, do you still have horses?" The awkward excitement in her voice made me nearly burst out laughing. Like I would have ever gotten rid of my horses. I nodded, my smile reaching all the way to my eyes, I'm sure.

"Of course, Jane! I keep them right outside of Boston, and when cases are especially annoying, that's where I go." I saw her make the connection in her head, before releasing my arm and stretching back across the pillows. I leaned over her, bracing one hand on each side of her head, hair pooling around her face. "Would you like to go see them?" her eyes lit as if they were on fire.

"You would bring me?" I smirked, placing a quick kiss to her lips as an answer. Then I pulled away, rising out of the bed we had shared for the past few months, walking towards the bathroom. I heard her moan, before following suit. We had places to go today.

* * *

My car crunched over the gravel driveway as cast iron gates opened slowly before us. The gates themselves were black, and they swung inward. I inched through, before pulling into an empty spot beside a Ford f450. I stepped out, Jane following.

"Nice truck, who's is it?" I grinned, shaking my head. She would notice the truck first; it was a sign of spending too much time around detective Frost.

"The sisters that run the place own it. Lena and Amy." Jane simply nodded, looking around at the place. It was really quite beautiful. In front of us was a full barn that looked to have about sixteen stalls. It was painted white, but the paint was a little worn around the sides. To the left and behind the barn were pastures. On our right was a separate, four stall barn, with two paddocks attached to it. I led Jane towards that one, excited. I hadn't been back here in some time. I hadn't even realized how badly I missed my boys until right now, either. I opened the lower half door, latching it in the open position as we entered. There was a flute hanging on the wall between the two larger box stalls to the left, and photos on the back wall above my tack. The two other stalls on the right were latched closed, but they were empty.

"You have the three of yours here?" Jane asked, as if she was awestruck.

"Four." I corrected. "And yes, this barn is pretty much mine. Lena trains my stallion for me, and her younger sister works with my gelding. The two old boys stay outside most of the time, since they'r retired." I reached for the flute, making a noise that was more like a bird call than an instrument. I paused, listening to the pounding of hooves. The palomino and white head was the first to the door, and he all but shoved his greying face into my chest. Jane grinned.

"I remember this one! You were on him the second time we met." I couldn't help but laugh, as my other retired gelding shoved his buckskin head over the door as well. Jane rested a hand beneath his thin, black forelock. "I don't remember this one, Maur."

"Oh, of course not." I stated. "I got him, Cinder, when I was in my early twenties, as a rescue. He pulled a tendon in one leg, and can't use it as well anymore. In college though, we were still champions in four- foot equitation." At her blank look I grinned. "Riding over jumps."

"Oh." She patted them, before Cinder got bored, slipping back out the door with a slight limp, Rocky putting his nose to the floor in order to scavenge some stray bit of hay. "What happened to your big black monster horse, Maur?" I smiled sadly, standing at the door of the other stall, when I pointed to one of the photos.

"Back in college, he went through some of the fencing. We didn't know it right away, but he broke a part of his vertebrae, ruining the signal transfer from his forelegs to his brain. For almost a year, he was perfectly fine." Jane was looking closely at the photo of the stallion, stretched out in a showmanship class with a championship ribbon pinned to his halter, lengthy tails and everything. On the bottom was a gold plate with the phrase 'Sir Tanvir' scrawled across in script. "Before the winter though, he dropped a lot of weight, and wouldn't put his head down to eat. I got on him once, and he nearly fell over. Finally, it got to the point where he could barely walk. I put him down then." She looked at the other photo, this one of a blood bay mare, going over a fence marked at five foot.

"What about this one?" I smiled fondly at the memory. Her plate stated 'They Call Me Crazy' with the statement 'Because No One Thought I Could' beneath the name.

"Oh, that was Lady. her show name was 'They Call Me Crazy.' She was only thirteen hands, three inches. Her conformation was bad too; one of her back legs was crooked, and the other foreleg swelled all the time. But she could jump." I smiled. "She took grand champion at the five- foot classic when I was twenty. She was almost twelve at the time. No one thought she would make it over a single fence." I looked far off for a moment, remembering the blood- bay superstar. "She passed away in her forties; the leg problems finally caught up to her. I knew she wasn't herself when she started cuddling up to me all the time. Normally she was a bitch to work with." Jane laughed at that, gaze softening to the chestnut who had approached. He pinned his ears at her, baring his teeth.

"Hello to you too." She stated. One of his ears flicked forward, followed by the other. He then shoved his face into her chest. "Who's this love?"

"That's Spike. Normally, he doesn't let anyone really touch him. He must like you." She grinned.

"What's there not to love, Maura?" I raised an eyebrow. "Rhetorical question, I'm sorry." There was the sound of shoes on gravel, and I stepped to the door.

"Lena!" I called out, catching the girl's attention. She paused in her discussion with a similar- looking woman, turning towards me before grins lit up both their features. Jane rested a hand against my back, joining me at the door.

"Hey Maura! I didn't know you were coming up today, or I would have left him for you." The girl stated, reins folded in her hand. The bridle had no nose- piece, and the reins were long. "He was fantastic around the barrels today, as well as for in- hand patterns." I opened my hand, letting him lower his head before I ran my fingers over his forelock.

"Thank you, I can take him." I told her, and the girl nodded. I tossed the reins over his neck, tapping beneath his chin before retreating into the stables again. The girls waved to Jane, before continuing with their previous discussion. My horse followed.

"He looks just like Lady, Maur." I smiled.

"I would hope so. He's her son, not that he acts at all like her. He's named They Call Me Winter Storm." I tugged the bridle off, placing a carrot between my teeth, which he sniffed, a moment before biting it. Jane's jaw nearly hit the concrete aisle. "What?" I asked, self- conscious.

"You trust him enough to feed him like that?" I nodded. "That is so cool." I laughed, putting him back into one of the stalls on the right. She leaned against the side of the stall as I brushed him, before picking another brush from the blu etote and joining me. I met her eyes over the back of him, and our gazes locked. "Maur, you know what I just thought about?"

"What?" I whispered. She looked around, holding her arms open.

"All this, for us it isn't just a barn. For us, its the beginning of forever."

I couldn't help but think about how very, very true that statement was.

* * *

_AN- Thank you to all that read this. This chapter especially goes out to RavenSkyAngel. You asked for it, and here is the answer! I hope you enjoyed it, because I sure did. Its not very often that I get to finish a story written by someone else, and it was rather... interesting. So I thank you for giving me the chance to continue on Myra's work._

_I would also like to point out that in the first chapter and this one, the horses are all based off of real horses that we have met._  
_Rocky- a horse that Myra has ridden at our trainer's barn, and really is just a best friend horse for western pleasure._  
_Tanvir- Though originally just fictional, he then became the carrier of the story of my arab stallion, Ben. Yes, Bennie really did break his neck because he went through fencing. He was great though, right up until the end._  
_Winter- Based off a standardbred rescue named Brawler, a horse that I personally helped the owner keep, by leaving her a package with half his adoption fee, signed by him. She wanted to kill me._  
_Spike- A real horse named Spike, that does bare his teeth to you, and I look at him like 'really?' and he cuts the crap. He really reminds me of Jane too- badass on the outside, softie on the inside._  
_Cinder- Myra's first real love of a horse, Ashe. He pulled a tendon when he was a colt, and I really did jump him four- six when he was like, fifteen. I swear. In a dressage saddle and a bit- less bridle. No freaking joke. Sadly, we lost him in a barn fire this past year._  
_Lady- My own little girl, Goldie. She was a pain in the ass to everyone but me (seriously), and I could legitimately walk up to the fence of our ten- acre pasture and call "hey, Lady!" and she would run. A little 13.3 hand quarter horse from a Lena line, jumping four- foot (and rising) at seven years old after being a champion reiner with a crooked back leg. They really did call me crazy for awhile there. Like Ashe, my little girl was lost during the only snowstorm Jersey saw in 2012._

_I want to thank you again for reading, and hope you review on my sister's story. Since I've digressed quite a bit, I think I'll return to my own FF account now, so catch me there! Thanks for reading, and thank Myra for letting me write!_

_~SnapTobiume10_


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